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The essence is that horizontal transmission of DWV from bee to bee is harmless. Varroa vectored DWV is lethal
Thank you for the links. I've only quickly scanned the documents, but if I have the gist correctly they appear to be suggesting that the form of DWV found in varroa-free bees is relatively benign, but when that virus enters the varroa mite it reproduces there in such a way that makes it far more damaging to the bees when it re-enters their system.
So DWV is not just a virus (or group of viruses) targeting honey bees, it's also a virus targeting varroa mites, and the mites don't just potentially transfer the virus from one bee to another, but provide an environment where it can reproduce, mutate (if that's the correct term to use in this case) and be reintroduced to the bees in its new more aggressive form.
That's certainly not inconsistent with my understanding of how viruses can work. I've not yet seen anything about an interaction with any other viruses the bee might be carrying, but I'll read more thoroughly later.
James